This invention relates to a combination of structural elements which enables users of standard rural mailboxes to protect such mailboxes from damage and/or destruction from outside forces, including vandalism, weather, snow plows and errant drivers, and further provides users with a margin of safety upon retrieval of mail therefrom.
More specifically, this invention relates to a rotatable, self-righting protective structural device for a rural mailbox, comprising a post-arm assembly and a protective cladding-mailbox assembly each assembly of which is rotatable upon the application of an outside force, to reduce the effect of such force and thereby protect the integrity of the mailbox. Thereby, upon installation of the device directly into the ground or set within a cement casing in the ground, axial rotation of the post-arm assembly and radial rotation of the protective cladding-mailbox assembly allows the device to "cushion" the blow of such outside force.
Heretofore, it has been common practice to permanently and rigidly attach mailboxes to posts and to replace damaged or destroyed rural mailboxes and posts, at considerable inconvenience and/or expense, requiring a new post and a new mailbox and time to assemble and reset the same in the ground.
There are other problems with the use of permanently and rigidly attached mailboxes to posts, most notable being that there is no "give" therewith, upon the application of an outside force, i.e. when the post breaks, e.g. by an errant vehicle, many times it acts as a missal, crashing through windshields and/or striking persons or property in close proximity thereto. And, there are additional problems with the use of permanently and rigidly attached units, most notably being interruption of mail service, upon breakage of the post or mailbox, until repairs and/or replacement are made.
Rotatable posts and/or self-righting features for mailbox assemblies have been available for sometime, but protective cladding attached to the mailbox and means to allow for radial rotation of such cladding-mailbox assembly about an arm extending from the post, have not been available. And, some attempts to combine axial rotation and self-righting features to a mailbox assembly, appear to be cumbersome and difficult to retrieve mail therefrom.
Many times, use of a rigid post, permanently and rigidly attached to a mailbox, is sufficient for rural use, but upon being damaged, from whatever source, interruption of mail service and inconvenience and cost of replacement were a way of life.
Up to the present time, the usual means for preventing interruption of mail services was to temporarily prop up the unit until a replacement unit could be purchased and reset.